Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has dismissed as a publicity stunt the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) march against water and power rationing held last Friday (September 4).

A press release from BDP secretary general, Mr Botsalo Ntuane, describes the UDC action as just an attention seeking stunt that would not resolve the prevailing shortages of water and power.

Mr Ntuane says the recently ended SADC summit hosted here in Botswana also acknowledged that utilities crisis has affected all countries in the sub region and at the highest levels of government, member states continue to seek long lasting solutions to the problem.

As is self-evident, he says, all Batswana are going through the same hardships irrespective of political affiliation .

And the alien tendency to politicise a regional problem for domestic partisan mileage should be viewed by the nation for what it is: cheap political grandstanding which at the end of the day provides no answers to the hardships the nation is experiencing.

Mr Ntuane adds the fact that only UDC leaders would lead the demonstration, sidelining BCP was more evidence that whatever publicity might be milked out of the demonstration was intended for the exclusive benefit of the UDC.

He says they did not want any competing opposition party raining on their parade. If the demonstration was not a party political activity as UDC purported, it would have been led by civil society or other non-partisan organisations, he adds.

Meanwhile, Mr Ntuane says as BDP they are alive to the plight of the nation and remain fully in support of the concerted efforts by government to get on top of the water and power situation .

Further, he says they are mindful of interventions outlined by The Minister of Minerals and Water Resources Mr Kitso Mokaila which are personally being monitored and supervised by President Lt. General Seretse Khama Ian Khama; a clear demonstration of his concern and respectively, those of the party and government he leads.